Denhall



F. E. MENDENHALL.

POTATO PLANTER.

APPLICATION FILED mm. 15. ma.

Patented Nov. 11, 1919.

2 SHEETSSHIEET 1.

2 VINVENTOR j'. E. .MezzafezflmJ A TTORNEYS F. E. MENDENHALL.

POTATO PLANTEB;

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 15. 1918.

1,321,226. Patented N0...4.1-1,\1919.

2 SHEETSTYSHEET 2.

WITNESSES f INVENTOH yam 6/ A TTORII/EK? UNITED STATES PATENT oFFIo FRANK EVORY MENDENHALL, OF KILGORE, NEBRASKA.

POTATO-PLANTER.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented NOV. 11, 1919,

Original application filed January 23, 1917, Serial No. 143.927. Divided and this application filed-March 15, 1918. Serial No. 222,759.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK EvoRY MEN- DENHALL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Kilgore, in the county of Cherry and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Potato-Planters, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is an improvement in potato planters, and has for its object to provide mechanism for taking the cuts from a hop per and delivering them one by one into a leg or dropper chute.

In the drawings: 1

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through the planter of which the wheel is a part, with parts omitted for the sake of clearness;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the fork supporting member of the dropping wheel from the inside, with parts broken away;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows adjacent the line; 1

Fig. 4 .is a view from theinside of the operating cam for the impaling forks;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the said forks.

The embodiment of the invention shown in thepresent application, which is a division of my prior application Serial No. 143,927 is shown in connection with a planter comprising a frame consisting of an arch bar 1 having openings in its arms through which passes the axle 2, and the dropping wheel, to be described, is keyed to the axle between the wheels 7 which are secured to the ends of the axle.

A tongue 5 is connected with the arch bar and a hopper 32 is arranged behind the axle, being supported by the tongue as'shown. The dropping wheel, as shown more particularly in Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5, consists of sections 18 and 19, respectively, each section having a hub which extends to the adjacent arm of the arch bar, thus spacing the dropping wheel sections at the center of the axle. The section 18 is secured to the axle 2 by means'of a key 20 and a set screw 21, while the section 19 is free to rotate on the axle. The section 18 of the dropping wheel is a cam having on the inner face thereof a cam groove 22, and the wheel is provided with a counterbored or reamed opening 23 at one part of the groove, for a purpose to be later mentioned.

The section 19 is provided in its inner face with an annular groove 24 intermediatethe shaft 2' and the periphery of the wheel, and from this'annular, groove lead grooves 25 to the periphery of the section. Theig'rooves 25 are. tangential to the inner' wall of "the annular groove, and in each of the tangential grooves is arranged a slidebar 26 which carries an impaling fork .27., The slide bars fit smoothly in the grooves, and

they are moved by means of rollers 28 joure naled on the bars and engaging the groove 22 of the cam section 18.3 Thergroove 22 is so arrangedthat as the impaling forks approach the hopper, to be later described, the slide bars will be moved outwardly by means of rollers 28 which are journaled on the slid bars, and Which engage in the groove 22 of the cam.

The slides are held in their grooves by means ofa holding ring 29 which is secured to the face of the section 19' by screws or the i like, and this holding ring has inclined 'slots 30 through which the rollers 28. extend in engagement with thecam groove.

-- Through the'opening 23 the rollers may be oiled and cleaned, and the slots 30 permit. the free movement of the rollers and slide bars. Itjvill lee noticed that the tines of the impaling forks are curved or arched and that the said tines of each fork are parallel with each other, so that the tendency of-the forks to pick up more than a single cut is reduced to minimum. The dropping f engaged by nuts to clamp the door to the feed hopper.

The impaling forks impale the cuts as they are moving up about the rear side of the dropping wheel, and they drop them as they are moved down on the front side of the dropping wheel into a leg or feed chute ,35 which is supported in front of the dropping wheel, and has an opening in its rear into which the dropping wheel extends. The drawing in of the forks by the cam positively dislodges the cuts.

Means is provided for dislodging cuts that might be picked up by the impaling forks without being impaled, that is, that might be held in the curve of the tines. means comprises a spring finger 68 which is secured to a bracket 69 on the cam portion 18 of the dropping wheel. This finger extends into the path of movement of the forks and will dislodge any cuts that might be carried up by the fork without being impaled.

in operation the otato cuts are laced in the feedhopper, as shown, and the feed opening of the hopper is regulated so that a number of cuts will lie upon/the extension 31 without falling off. As the machine moves forwardly, thedropping wheel will be rotated and the impaling forks 27 will pass in succession through the extension hopper, and each fork will take up a single cut. As the forks pass over. to the front of the wheel and down the same the cuts are dislodged as the forks withdraw and will fall into the chute, which will deliver them into the furrow.

I claim:

1. In a potato planter, a dropping wheel having passages opening at the periphery of the wheel tangential to a Circle concentric with the axis of the wheel, slides in the passages, each slide having an impaling fork at its outer end for impaling a potato cut when the fork is extended, the out being dislodged when the fork is withdrawn, means for moving the slides and means for delivering the cuts to the forks when they are extended.

2. In a potato planter, a dropping wheel having passages therein tangential to a circle concentric with the axis of the wheel and opening at the periphery of the wheel, slides in the passages, each slide having an impaling fork at its outer end for impaling a potato out when the fork is extended, the out being dislodged when the fork is withdrawn, the tines of the fork being curved in the direction of rotation of the wheel, means for delivering cuts to the forks when they The said are extender, and means for removing from a fork a cut engaged but not impaled thereon.

3. In a potato planter comprising a wheel supported frame and a hopper supported on said frame, said hopper being provided at its lower extremity with an extension shelf having a slot formed therein and being furtherprovided with an opening permitting cut potatoes within the hopper to pass onto said extension shelf, and a dropping wheel having slides movable therein and carrying at their outer ends impaling forks adapted to pass through the slot in said extension shelf whereby to impale the potato cuts thereon. 7 4 In a potato planter, a dropping wheel comprising a disk member having formed therein a concentric annular recess and further provided with aplurality of passages opening at the periphery of the disk and extending tangentially to and communicatingwith said concentric annular recess, a slide disposed within each passage and carrying at its end an impaling fork, a roller on each slide intermediate the ends thereof, a circular plate secured upon said disk and covering said concentric annular recess and retaining said slides in position, said plate eing provided with slots disposed in registration with said passages and permitting sliding movement of said rollers, the rollers extending through said slots, and a second disk member disposed against said plate and provided upon its face with a cam groove receiving said rollers whereby upon relative rotation of said disks said slides will be moved to successively expand and retract the forks carried thereby.

5(111 a potato planter, a dropping wheel carrying a plurality of impaling forks each including spaced tines, means for supplying potato cuts into position to be impaled by said forks, and a spring'finger disposed in the path of travel of said forks whereby to disengage therefrom a cut disposed but not impaled thereon. V

FRANK EVORY MENDENHALL.

Witnesses:

H. A. Fox, LEWIS GOODRICH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

